In the last-chance race to make the historic NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Stewart’s track, Benning survived nearly getting wrecked three times by Clay Greenfield.

Benning, a journeyman driver and Truck Series regular, stuck his hand out his truck window and gave Greenfield a one-finger salute after the spirited battle with a young driver who was just doing his best to get into the big show.

“That was the highlight of my day,” Stewart said. “When Norm crossed the start-finish line, to watch all the crew guys cheer him, that’s one of the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in NASCAR racing.”

The reaction from the garage was because Benning is a series staple. He often runs much slower than most drivers in the field but has the respect of his competitors because he shows up every week and does the best with what he has.

“I just never lifted and he drove into me three times,” Benning said. “I love Tony Stewart’s track. I’ve been looking forward to this race since the day they announced it.”

Benning’s truck was so damaged after the last-chance race that crew chiefs and mechanics from several teams helped fix his truck.

“To see how excited he was to make the race and see the spirit of the teams — as big as all this is, to see five different teams pitching in at a dirt track and fixing somebody’s car to get ready for the feature, that’s why we all do what we do,” Stewart said.

“That’s just proof that no matter how big it gets (with) the drivers and the teams, the passion that started in all of this is still in everybody that is here. That was cool to watch. That made my whole event.”